Directed by Paul Weitz

Any time I hear of a ?romantic comedy? being released on DVD the eyes light up in anticipation. Would this new film become my all time favourite and displace films like ?Notting Hill? and ?Bridget Jones? Diary? that I have placed up on a pedestal? Unfortunately, after watching ?In Good Company? the answer was a big fat NO. I think as far as romantic comedies go, the Brits are the kings of the domain, and try as the American film makers might, they simply can?t match the films that come out of England. That is my humble opinion anyway.

?In Good Company? was certainly entertaining to begin with but mid way through the film it started to lose my interest and left me at the end feeling a little ?ripped off?. I suppose, I always base my enjoyment on the ending of a film and I was not happy with this one at all. I did not shed one little tear and for a romantic comedy to fail to do that, well that is saying something.

The story revolves around Don Foreman (Dennis Quaid), a 51 year old advertisement salesman for the magazine ?Sports America?. After a take over from ?Globecom?, Dan is demoted and replaced by Carter Duryea (Topher Grace), a 26 year old hot shot workaholic who has little experience in the field he has just been promoted to. Dan can not afford a smaller wage as he has two teenage daughters to support and has just found out his wife Ann (Marg Helgenberger) is pregnant. His oldest daughter Alex (Scarlett Johansson) has decided to leave home after being accepted into NYU, a rather expensive university and he needs to take out a second mortgage so she can further her education.

Carter has just recently divorced his wife Kim (Selma Blair) of seven months because she didn?t like playing second fiddle to his job. It is not long before Carter and Alex meet and begin having a relationship behind her daddy?s back. That leaves many questions to ponder whilst you watch ?In Good Company? Will Carter and Alex?s relationship last? Will Carter realise that there is more to life than his job? Will Dan survive in this new corporate world where teamwork and hand shakes are replaced by synergy?

After watching ?In Good Company?, I would have to say that the ?rom-com? tag wasn?t really appropriate as the romance between Alex and Carter was not the real reason behind the whole film. It was really about the new kid on the block learning the ropes from an old pro (in Dan), on how to work as a team and about life in general. If you consider the film more as a drama/comedy then your expectations may be met. The story the film is preaching is really very relevant for this day and age. In a world where there are many corporate take overs and company mergers this film shows that there is still a place for the old fashioned way of thinking.

The two main actors in ?In Good Company? both play their roles admirably and I wouldn?t be surprised to see Topher Grace get more and more leading roles. He has the ?boy next door? good looks and was very likeable in this film. His acting was not over the top, it was just right for the role he played. Dennis Quaid played a role I?m sure Meg Ryan wishes he was still playing with her, as a dedicated father and husband. Scarlett Johansson and Marg Helgenberger were very good in their small roles too.

Overall, the film is quite watchable and there are some humorous moments scattered throughout its length like Dan?s reaction to his surprise birthday party and what happens to Carter?s brand new Porsche as he is driving it out the car yard. Even though it was marketed as a romantic comedy I think most fans of this genre would be disappointed as the romance factor is quite minimal. If you ignore that fact then you might enjoy ?In Good Company? and the overall message it is trying to convey. That said, I am still undecided as to whether this film will get another viewing on our television screen.

Paul Weitz, the director, was also responsible for the film ?About a Boy? which I would rate up there as one of my favourite films of all time. I just can?t say the same thing about his latest effort. A nice film, but certainly not a classic.

THE EXTRAS

Other than Scene Selection, there are quite a few extras on this DVD. They are:
1) Audio Commentary with director Paul Weitz and Topher Grace.
2) Deleted Scenes (Available with or without the director?s commentary) There are 10 scenes in total and they run for 16minutes. Most of them were deleted only because the film would have been about 2 hours and 45 minutes with them in it, (instead of the 106 minutes it ended up being). They are all enjoyable and are worth watching, the director only deleted most of them as he felt that the messages they were trying to convey were evident in other scenes. My favourite was the one where Dan put some hair dye on his head and it started to drip on to his face in a corporate meeting. Silly but cute!

3) SYNERGY featurettes. There are 7 parts and they run for 24 minutes in total. They are:
Stars This one takes a look at the ?older? stars of the movie.
Youth This one looks at the ?younger? cast members Scarlett and Topher.
gettiNg older A short discussion about ages and Dennis mentions the fact that his character is 2 years older than him and he was happy that they had to actually make him look older for the part.
rEal life This featurette looks at some real employees of a sports magazine and some other ?big wigs? in real companies and the qualities they look for when hiring.
New York locations A look at the locations used in the film.
editinG Surprise, surprise, this one is about how the film was edited
storY A short discussion on the film?s script and why they chose to do the film.

4) Cast and Filmmakers A little bit of information on the main actors as well as the director and producer and a few other behind the scenes guys.

CONCLUSION

?In Good Company? basically tells the story of 51 year old Dan Foreman (Dennis Quaid), an ad salesman for magazine ?Sports America? who gets demoted and replaced by younger ?hot shot? Carter Duryea (Topher Grace) after a corporate take over just as he finds out his wife is pregnant and his oldest daughter Alex (Scarlett Johansson) has just been accepted into an expensive university course. To make matters worse Alex and Carter being seeing each other behind daddy?s back. How will Dan cope in this new corporate world and what will happen when he finds out about his daughter?s new love interest? Overall, the film was enjoyable but if you watch it expecting a ?romantic comedy, as it was billed, then you will probably be a little disappointed.